


Who We Are

by invisible_slytherin



Series: How Things Should Be [3]
Category: Rise (TV 2018)
Genre: Date Night, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 08:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14931158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisible_slytherin/pseuds/invisible_slytherin
Summary: Because he was happy, he had a wonderful boyfriend, he accepted who he was, and his father would just have to deal with it.Or, the one where Simon goes on a date with his boyfriend and accepts himself.





	Who We Are

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this before finishing 'What's Meant To Be' and I thought about publishing it individually since I hate having finished works on my drafts. However, this seemed like such a nice way to end this series so I waited a few days until I finished the other work.
> 
> Anyway, this is just fluff, hope it fills your heart.

Jeremy and Simon had been walking around the city for a while now. They had left as soon as the last class finished and had done nothing more than hold hands and walk while talking about nothing and everything. 

 

It was a month after they decided to give a “public” relationship a go and they couldn’t be happier. Sometimes, it was still a little hard, there were still some toxic thoughts inside of them and some people still weren’t exactly accepting, but things were looking better the more days that passed.

 

They stopped walking when they got a small, cosy café. It was warm and comfortable inside and the both of them sat together at a table near the back, not to hide but because they could talk among themselves without being interrupted by anyone else’s distracting conversations.

 

After they had gotten their orders, they sat in silence for a while, just sipping their drinks and looking at each other. They had spent a lot of time together before, and they loved every second of it, but something about this being a date made it seem different, more serious and intimate.

 

“Simon?” Jeremy interrupted the silence.

 

Simon hummed in response, not taking his eyes away from him.

 

“I haven’t been asking because I’m not sure if you want to talk about it,” Jeremy paused. “But how are things at home?”

 

Simon sighed. To be honest, he had been waiting for Jeremy to ask that. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t talked about it before, maybe he had just been postponing it and trying not to think about it for as long as possible, but now the subject was laid upon the table and he was surprised to find that he actually wanted to talk about it and let go of all his thoughts and worries regarding the subject.

 

“It’s not as bad as it could be or as I thought it would be, but it’s not exactly good either.”

 

Jeremy grabbed his hand on top of the table and caressed the back of it with his thumb, nodding at Simon to show that he could continue talking whenever he was ready.

 

Simon took a sip of his coffee and looking out the window, willing the sky to show him how to put his thoughts into words.

 

“My father isn’t exactly happy about it, like we already knew would happen. He was pretty mad when I came out and told him that I had a boyfriend, he didn’t talk to me for over a week; I’m pretty sure he was waiting for me to realize it was all a phase and break up with you or something,” he rolled his eyes. “But it didn’t happen, so he just speaks the minimum to me, gives me some hard looks and otherwise ignores my existence.”

 

“Simon…”

 

“It’s okay, honestly,” Simon shrugged. “It could be much worse. I don’t mind that he doesn’t talk to me.”

 

“He’s your father and you do mind, Si.”

 

“Yeah, okay, I don’t exactly like it, but I would much rather he not talking to me than he saying shit about us. My mother is supportive, though, she keeps smiling at me with something like, I don’t know, pride in her eyes whenever I talk about you. And she wants to properly meet you, by the way.”

 

“I would like to meet her, too.”

 

“I’ll talk to her and we can agree on something then,” Simon smiled.

 

“Are you okay, though? With everything,” Jeremy asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. My father will have to deal with this and I’m not alone, I have my mother and my sister, I have the troupe and I have you. I’m more than okay.”

 

“Good,” Jeremy smiled and lifted his hand to kiss his knuckles.

 

The conversation was light after that and they ended up losing track of time, they stayed in the small café for a few hours, drinks long emptied and smiles full of happiness. Being together meant the world to them and when they were like this, lost in each other, they didn’t think about any adversities to their relationship, they were the only ones that mattered. 

 

But now it was getting late and Simon had been awake since early in the morning because he had needed to revise the oral presentation he had had that day, so he was getting really tired. Simon’s head was resting on Jeremy’s shoulder while Jeremy’s arm was around his back, they were still talking but the pauses were bigger now and Jeremy looked down at Simon to see his eyelids drooping for a second before opening again.

 

“We can go home if you want to,” Jeremy said, fingers caressing Simon’s arm lightly.

 

“Just a little bit more.”

 

“Simon, you’re clearly tired. We should take you home so that you can rest, we have school tomorrow.”

 

Simon just groaned and wrapped his arm around Jeremy’s waist to try and get even closer. He knew that they should go home, he was beyond tired and he knew that Jeremy  needed to go home too, but a part of him didn’t want to leave the café where they were. He knew that once they were on the way to his house he would have to say goodbye to Jeremy and their perfect night and say hello to his father and a night of feeling put out in his own house.

 

“Come on, Simon,” Jeremy said one last time.

 

He kissed Simon’s head and got up, making his boyfriend whine and get up with a tired grumble. Jeremy thought he was adorable and he wanted to hold him and not let go, but they had to go. He had to take Simon home. Simon’s father was already against their relationship, he didn’t need any more reason to try and get Jeremy away from his son.

 

Jeremy gave Simon his car keys and told him to get in the car while he went to pay. It had been such a good night, to be able to do the things normal couples did in public, to look at Simon and not see the worry lines in his face, to not see the doubt and insecurity but see pride and happiness instead; it was the best thing that could have happened to him, the best thing that could have happened to them.

 

When Jeremy finally paid and went to his car, he wasn’t surprised to see that Simon had turned on the radio but fallen asleep. He looked at his boyfriend fondly, hand reaching out to take a piece of hair away from his eyes, and he smiled; this was his life, this was what he had now and he never wanted it to change. Everything just seemed to be perfect, to fit perfectly.

 

Simon didn’t wake up on the drive to his place, he stayed soundly asleep through the night noises and the music softly playing and Jeremy didn’t really want to wake him up once they were at their destiny. Simon looked so soft and peaceful that Jeremy just wanted to find a way to curl up next to him in the small car seat and let the world fade away until tomorrow, but he knew that he had to wake up his boyfriend and let him go home so that he could do the same.

 

“Simon,” he called softly, fingertips caressing the boy’s cheek.

 

Simon just grumbled and pressed his head harder to the car door. Jeremy wondered how he could sleep on the hard surface without seeming bothered by it at all.

 

“Baby, come on, we’re here.”

“Shut up, Jeremy,” Simon groaned.

 

Jeremy laughed. He had never had the pleasure to see a sleepy Simon, he had never had the pleasure to see him when he had to wake up and get up but didn’t want to, and it felt so domestic and personal and  _ intimate  _ that Jeremy could feel his heart bursting. It was a new part of Simon that he hadn’t discovered and every new part of Simon that he discovered just made him fall more and more for him. And it felt so, so good.

 

“Simon, come on.”

 

“You’re annoying,” Simon said but opened his eyes and sighed when he saw his house. “Guess I got to go.”

 

“Yeah,” Jeremy gave him a soft smile. “I had a good time tonight. I’m glad that we can do this now.”

 

“Me too,” Simon said, looking a bit more awake with a smile on his face. He moved his hand and grabbed Jeremy’s intertwining their fingers. “I was too scared to do what I had always wanted to do before, it feels good to be able to do all of that now.” 

 

“I’m so proud of you.”

 

And Jeremy knew that he said it a lot of times, but it just felt right to remind Simon how amazing he was and much he had grown, how good he looked while wearing his own skin proudly.

 

“Thank you,” Simon smiled, a faint blush on his cheeks.

 

They stood there, inside the car, lost in each other’s eyes for a while. Simon was the first to move, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Jeremy’s gently. Jeremy raised his hands to cup Simon’s cheeks and kissed back, incredibly happy to have the night end like this, in a sweet kiss.

 

“I really gotta go now,” Simon chuckled, eyes sparkling and voice soft.

 

Jeremy nodded.

 

“Goodnight, Si,” he said.

 

“Goodnight, Jer,” Simon pressed one last small kiss against his lips before exiting the car and leaving Jeremy with a big, happy smile on his face.

 

Simon was smiling just as big and just as happy, proud of himself and of his boyfriend, proud of their relationship and their progress. He had had an incredible night, he had loved every moment of it and he knew that he was falling in love with Jeremy each moment they spent together. It was such a wonderful feeling, Simon never wanted to stop feeling like this, never wanted to stop feeling butterflies, never wanted to stop feeling the fireworks and never wanted to stop falling in love with Jeremy.

 

He watched as Jeremy drove away before turning to his house and opening the door, knowing that the situation at home might not be the best but that nothing could wipe the smile from his face. Because he was happy, he had a wonderful boyfriend, he accepted who he was, and his father would just have to deal with it.

 

This was Simon, the true Simon.

 

And he wouldn’t change for anyone or anything.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I loved writing for this show and characters and I really hope that I get new ideas to keep writing about them. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this.
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments, they made my day!


End file.
